


And it goes something like this

by pocketmumbles (livelikejack)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aromantic, Asexual Character, Everyone Is Alive, Future Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 13:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2549009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livelikejack/pseuds/pocketmumbles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>prompt: Boyd/Cora/Erica with aromantic Erica, asexual Cora, and Boyd who is neither but they make it work and are happily alive</em>
</p>
<p><em>Us.</em> Warmth pools in Cora’s chest at the word. It sounds like love, it sounds like family, it sounds like <em>home</em>. She nods. “For all of us.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	And it goes something like this

**Author's Note:**

> For [Sini](http://likealittlechild.tumblr.com).
> 
> This is a non-linear narrative, set in a canon-divergent future where everyone is alive and things have calmed down enough for them to start their own families. 
> 
> **Background Braeden/Derek, Kira/Scott.** Assume that 3A proceeded more or less the same, but Erica and Boyd recovered from their injuries. Cora still left at the end of 3A, just like in canon.

“I still don’t get why you’re _moving_ ,” Derek says.

Cora sighs. “I’m not trying to leave you or anything,” she says. “But it’s time. We’ve outgrown a loft apartment, you know? No offense,” she adds to Braeden.

“None taken,” Braeden says. She places another box in the back of Boyd’s truck. “Lofts aren’t for everyone. Even if the landlord’s damn cute.” She tweaks Derek’s nose with a grin, and Cora resists rolling her eyes when Derek abandons the next box in favor of tugging his fiancée in for a kiss.

“We just think it’s time for a house,” Cora says after Braeden heads back into the building. “And the one we got is great, you know, tons of space and privacy and-” She sighs. “I just really want to live on my own, Derek. This building belongs to you. I want my own place.”

Derek nods, albeit unhappily. “And Boyd and Erica?”

“They want their own place, too,” she says. “You’ll always be my big brother, and you’ll always be their first alpha. But we need to live without you looking over our shoulders all the time.”

“Last time I stopped doing that, you almost died,” Derek says. “All of you.”

“I could say the same for you,” Cora says. Derek drops his head. “But that was a long time ago. Things are better, now. We’re safe.” She nudges her brother. “Besides, if there’s anyone you should be worrying over, it should be your goddaughter. Scott has no idea how to take care of a werewolf kid; him and Kira are gonna need all the help they can get.”

“It’s not like I’m an expert, either.”

“You did well enough with me,” Cora says. Derek smiles. “Now hurry up with these boxes. I wanna show you the house before Boyd and Erica get there with the furniture.”

“Why would I want to see the house when it’s _empty_ ,” Derek mutters, but bends to pick up the next box.

 

Boyd stares down at his high school diploma while caps rain down around him. They made it. They actually made it.

Allison taps his arm, having wandered down from the end of their now-empty row. “Didn’t think you’d make it to today either, huh?” she asks with a wry smile.

He shakes his head. “Too many close calls,” he says. “For all of us. I’m just-” He looks up at her, feeling a grin spread across his face. “We made it.”

“We did,” Allison says. She sniffs, blinking her eyes and biting her lip. “Wow, I didn’t think I’d get so emotional today, but-”

“We’re finally getting out of here!” Lydia shouts, running up to their row and throwing her entire weight against Boyd in a hug. “Boyd, we’re finally getting out of here, oh my god.”

Allison smiles waterily. “Try not to forget about us while you’re taking over Berkeley, okay?”

Lydia squeezes her tight. “It’s only a few hours away, and we’ll Skype every night,” she promises.

“Besides, orientation isn’t for another month,” Boyd says. “We’re not leaving just yet.”

“Yeah, you still gotta make your big confession to Erica before you go,” Lydia says, nudging him with her arm. “What’s taking you so long, you waiting for the rainy season so it can be like _The Notebook_ or something?”

Boyd rolls his eyes. “I’m not waiting for anything,” he says. “It’s not going to happen.”

“Are you kidding me?” Allison says. “We’ve all seen you two these past years. You’re practically a couple.”

Lydia nods. “Even Liam can tell you’re totally in love with her. You can’t possibly tell us you’re okay with just being her friend.”

“We’re not just friends,” Boyd says. He glances across the empty seats to where Erica and Isaac take selfies with their diplomas. She turns, as if sensing his gaze, and waves at him with a brilliant smile. He grins and waves back. “We’re more than that.”

“But you’re not…together,” Allison says.

“We’re not a romantic couple, if that’s what you mean,” Boyd says. He shrugs. “We want different things from each other. We’re okay.”

Lydia makes a face. “It doesn’t sound very okay,” she says. “Especially if you’re _leaving_ soon. You don’t want to leave things on a vague note, trust me.”

“We’ll be okay,” Boyd says with more confidence than he feels. They’ve been through hell together, him and Erica. They’ll be okay through this, too.

They have to be.

Lydia looks unconvinced, but Allison touches her arm. “All right,” she says. “Where’s Derek? Him and Liam should’ve gotten here by…” She trails off, staring at something over Boyd’s shoulder. “…now.”

Boyd turns and freezes. Liam’s running up to Scott, tugging Mason after him, and Braeden walks behind them with an indulgent smirk on her face. Derek’s further back, though, his arm wrapped around a smaller figure that Boyd hasn’t seen in years. She meets Boyd’s eyes and smiles hesitantly.

“Cora?”

 

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Erica says, sprawling on the couch in their loft and tucking her toes under the cushions. Boyd always pulls them into his lap when he’s around, but his flight back from his business trip won’t come in for another couple of hours.

A muffled clang echoes from the kitchen. “I can’t,” Cora says.

“Well, shit,” Erica says with a laugh. “Maybe we should order in instead?”

“But Boyd loves home cooked meals,” Cora says. “And we’re always getting takeout.”

“Yeah, but if the alternative is accidental food poisoning…”

Cora’s head pops up from over the counter to glare at her. “I’m not _that_ bad.”

“Hey, I don’t know,” Erica says. “Isaac said he ‘couldn’t really drive’ once in high school, and we ended up wrapped around a tree. I’m just anticipating the worst.”

“Was the car okay?” Cora asks.

“You’re just like your brother,” Erica says, laughing. “It’s fine now. Gave Derek a nice project to work on for half a year. Impressed Braeden and everything. Me and Isaac were fine, too, thanks for asking.”

“Werewolves,” Cora says with a shrug. “I used to throw bricks at Derek when we were kids.”

“Glad I didn’t grow up as a werewolf, then,” Erica says. She hops up onto the counter and looks at what looks like the entire contents of their fridge spread out next to her. “So, whatcha planning for dinner?”

Cora frowns at their rickety pan. Derek had complained about buying them proper cookware every time he visited, but Erica hadn’t really seen the merit in bothering until now. “I was thinking steak, but we don’t really have anything to go with it.”

“We have onions?”

“Yes, because steak and a small mountain of onions sounds really appetizing,” Cora says, picking through the spices. “If we had potatoes, I could fry them.”

“You could?” Erica asks. She can bake just about anything, but the stove mystifies her.

Cora makes a face. “Well, I could try.”

Erica slumps against the counter with a snort. “Well, we’re off to a great start.” She lifts her elbow and notices the packet of tortillas. “Hey, what if we made steak tacos? Boyd loves Mexican.”

Cora tilts her head. “I could manage tacos,” she says. “It won’t be exactly Mexican, but I picked up a few tricks in South America.”

Erica grins and hops off the counter. “Great, I’ll be your sous chef!” she says. She twists her hair into a knot and steals a chopstick from the drying rack to secure it. “Where do we start?”

Cora smiles. “Pass me that oil,” she says. “And wash your hands.”

After a flurry of following Cora’s directions and putting leftover food back in the fridge, Erica’s phone buzzes. “Hey, Isaac’s picked up Boyd from the airport,” she says. “They should be here in half an hour.”

“Perfect timing,” Cora says, looking up from stirring the meat. She sniffs the steam over the pan once, then turns down the heat with a nod. “Thanks for helping me, by the way.”

“Of course,” Erica says. She wraps her arms around Cora and kisses her hair. “You’re important to me. Both of you.”

Cora hugs her back, pressing her nose to Erica’s collarbone and inhaling deeply. “You’re both important to me, too.”

Erica smiles and squeezes her one last time before letting go. “Help me set the table?”

Boyd drops his bags as soon as he walks through the door – Isaac dives for the laptop case with a yelp – and wraps his arms around them, dropping a kiss onto Erica’s skin and a sniff into Cora’s. “I missed you both so much,” he murmurs.

Isaac quietly sets down the rest of the bags and heads for the door. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“You don’t wanna stay for dinner?” Boyd asks.

“Nah, I’ll just go bother Derek and Braeden upstairs,” Isaac says. “I know you guys’d rather be alone. That’s why I got my Boyd quality time in on the drive here.” He opens the door and flashes Erica a smirk. “I’ll leave you to your not-date.”

Erica smirks back. “Not a not-date,” she says. “Full date.”

Isaac snorts and shuts the door behind him. “Full date?” Boyd repeats, looking quizzically at Erica.

She nods. “Cora made dinner and everything.”

“Erica helped,” Cora adds quickly.

Boyd’s face softens. “You made dinner for us?” he asks. “For me?”

Cora squeezes his hand, her other wrapped tight around Erica’s. “Welcome home.”

Erica drops their hands to clap hers excitedly. “Let’s have a real date!” she says. “Light some candles, put on some Michael Buble?”

“We are not listening to Michael Buble,” Boyd says.

“Who’s Michael Buble?” Cora asks.

“Derek has some of his CDs, I think,” Boyd says.

Cora makes a face. “Oh, then we are not listening to Michael Buble.”

“Okay, not Michael Buble, then,” Erica says. “I dunno, I thought that’s what people do on real dates.”

Boyd tugs them in close. “We make our own dates,” he says. “They’re all real.”

 

Erica looks down at the test in her hand, then the four other ones on the counter below, then sweeps them all into the trash. “Okay,” she says, staring at her reflection in the mirror. “Okay. Okay.”

A knock sounds at the door. “Erica?” Isaac asks. “You hanging in there?”

“I think?” she tries. She sits on the floor, suddenly dizzy. Who knew breathing could be so complicated. “How do you do the breathing thing again?”

Isaac barrels into the bathroom and kneels in front of her. “You’re okay, Erica, breathe with me, okay?” he says, resting his hands over her ribs. “In and out. In and out. Okay? You’re fine.”

She exhales shakily. “Okay,” she says. “Okay.” She takes a deep breath and looks up at Isaac. “Now what do I do?”

“It’s up to you, but I’d guess you’d probably want to talk to your partners,” Isaac says. He sits down more comfortably next to her, swinging their hands together like they used to when they were teenagers. “And Scott, probably, and Derek, of course. But start with Boyd and Cora, I’d imagine.”

“Okay.” She nods, staring down at their hands. “That’s a lot of people.”

“Well, it takes a village to raise a child,” Isaac says with a cheeky grin. His gaze slides away, and the grin fades a little. “Or, well, it should.” He looks back at her hopefully. “Can I be the godfather?”

Erica laughs. “I haven’t even talked to them, yet,” she says. “We haven’t even decided if…” She hesitates, putting a hand over her belly. “I want this,” she says, and is surprised by the tears that well up in her throat. “Oh my god, I want this. But only if…”

“If they want this, too,” Isaac finishes, nodding. “That’s why you should talk to them.” He kisses her forehead. “It’s gonna be okay. It’s not like they’ve ever said that they _didn’t_ want-”

“But we didn’t plan this,” she says. “What if it’s too soon?”

Isaac glances around the room. “Erica, you’ve been together for years,” he says. “You guys got a house together, with, like, a porch and everything.” Erica laughs. “Does it feel too soon for you?”

She shakes her head. “No,” she says. “It feels perfect. But that’s probably just the hormones talking.”

“I think that’s probably a ton of bullshit,” Isaac says, “and I’m gonna check with Melissa just so I can rub it in your face just how stupid that sounded.”

“I just…” Erica says, worrying her lip between her teeth. “Isaac, what if I can’t love it right?”

He gapes at her. “What?”

“I mean, because I don’t – I can’t love Cora and Boyd the way they love me,” she says. “What if I can’t-”

“Erica,” Isaac interrupts, shaking his head, “that has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Do you think Cora’d be a bad parent because she doesn’t have sex?”

“That’s different.”

“Is it?”

“Of course it is,” Erica says. “Sex isn’t necessary to love someone.”

“And romance is?” Isaac says. “Were you planning on romancing your own kid?”

“No, but what if – they’re going to want to know-”

“You said it takes a village to raise a child, right?” Isaac says. “Well, you’ve got tons of people who can teach your kid about romance. Including their other parents.”

She twists her hands in her lap. “I just don’t want to mess this up.”

“Then don’t,” Isaac says simply. He strokes her hair. “You scared?”

“Terrified.”

He smiles. “Then you’re ready.”

She fidgets all through dinner, chewing on her own lip more than the meal in front of her. “All right, that’s it,” Cora says, setting her glass down on the table with a thunk. “Spit it out, Erica.”

Erica freezes mid-chew. “Huh?”

Cora rolls her eyes. “Not literally.”

“But you’ve been quiet all through dinner, and you’ve barely eaten anything,” Boyd says. “And you love Cora’s steak tacos, so.”

Erica swallows heavily. “Um,” she says, twisting her napkin in her lap. “Well. I’m, uh.” She takes a deep breath and shuts her eyes. “I’m pregnant.”

Complete silence answers her. She cracks an eye open to see Cora and Boyd staring open-mouthed at her. “You’re pregnant?” Boyd finally manages.

“You’re sure?” Cora asks.

Erica nods, mouth dry. They tumble out of their chairs, nearly upending the table in the process, and run to carefully lift her out of her seat. Boyd pulls Erica into a kiss, and Cora leans her forehead on Erica’s shoulder. “We’re having a baby,” Boyd says, voice full of wonder.

“We’re having a baby,” Cora affirms, smiling so wide that her eyes crinkle.

“We’ll go see Melissa in the morning,” Boyd says. “Make sure everything’s okay.”

“And Derek,” Cora says with a nod. “Since the baby’s going to be a werewolf.” Her eyes widen. “Oh. Isaac. We should ask Isaac.”

“Huh?” Erica asks.

“The baby’s going to need a godparent,” Boyd says, sharing a nod with Cora. “We should ask Isaac.”

She feels a smile spreading across her face. “Are you sure?” she asks.

Boyd drops his head to the crook of her neck, inhaling deeply. Cora kneels carefully, rolling Erica’s shirt up and pressing a kiss just below her navel. “So sure,” she says.

Erica swallows down a sob and pulls them in close. “We’re having a baby.”

 

Boyd stops in the doorway of Derek’s loft and crosses his arms over his chest. “Surprised you’re still here.”

Cora resists the urge to flinch. She deserves it, after all. “I didn’t know you were coming back for Thanksgiving break,” she tries.

“I’ll always come back when family asks me to,” Boyd says.

Cora does flinch at that. “Boyd, come on,” Erica says, holding her hands out placatingly between them. “Things have changed, okay?”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Boyd says, still looking at Cora with a face so calm it feels like the most quelling of glares. “Since I haven’t been around these past three months while you two became best friends.”

“Oh, is that what this is about?” Erica says with an exasperated sigh. “You think you’re being replaced, is that what it is?”

“Of course that isn’t what this is about,” Boyd snaps, which only proves how much of a lie that is. “It’s-” He breaks off, breathing hard through his nose, then looks up at Cora. “Why’d you come back now?” he asks. “Why’d you finally come back right when I was about to leave?”

Cora steps back. “I didn’t mean to-” she begins. “I – Derek said you were graduating, and I thought that meant – I don’t know California universities, okay, I thought you were going to _stay_.”

“Well, I’m not.”

_“Boyd,”_ Erica stresses.

He glares at her. “Whose side are you on?”

“I’m on my own side!” Erica yells. “I just want two of the most important people in my life to stop hating each other!”

“I could never hate Cora,” Boyd says, and Cora tries to quash the warmth that blooms in her chest. It freezes when he cuts a glance at her, anyway. “But she was gone for the past two years, how important could she be to you?”

Erica folds her arms. “You tell me,” she says. “I’m not the one who asked her to stay last time.”

Cora feels her heart jolt. So do the others, if their hesitant turns in her direction are any indication. “Boyd?” she asks. “Is _that_ what this is about? Because I didn’t stay when you asked me to?”

Boyd’s arms drop to his sides. “I thought-” he begins, then stops, heaving a sigh. “I thought we were enough of a reason for you to stay. I thought we were _important_ enough to you to stay. But you left anyway.”

“I would have stayed for either one of you,” Cora says, and hates the way her voice quavers. “But you had each other. You didn’t _need_ me to stay-”

“Yes, we did,” Erica interrupts.

“-and I wasn’t ready to have a family again,” Cora finishes. She stares down at the floor, not daring to look at their faces. “I’d been without one for so long, I was used to being alone – I got scared,” she says with a sigh. “I knew I couldn’t give either of you what you wanted, in any sense of the word, and I knew you’d have each other, so…”

“So you ran away,” Boyd says flatly. He stares at the ground for a long moment. “Why’d you come back?”

She scuffs the floor with her shoe. “I’m want a family,” she says. “Or, well, I want to try. And I know I missed a lot, I know a lot changed, and I know I have no right to-”

Boyd crosses the room in quick strides and envelops Cora in a hug, ducking his head to breathe in her scent. She feels Erica press in behind her and tuck her arms over Boyd’s. “We’ve always wanted whatever you could give us,” Erica says softly. “I understand why you had to leave, but we’ve always needed you.”

“You make us better,” Boyd says. “We don’t make any sense without you.” He leans back, but Erica’s hands tighten over his arms. “I still have to back to college,” he says. “I’ll still be gone for the next four years.”

“Berkeley isn’t that far away,” Cora says. “We can figure something out.”

Erica drops a kiss into her hair. “Stay?” she asks. “For all of us?”

_Us_. Warmth pools in Cora’s chest at the word. It sounds like love, it sounds like family, it sounds like _home_. She nods. “For all of us.”

 

Scott lifts Boyd’s daughter high in the air, grinning as she squeals in glee and rubbing their noses together. “She’s getting so big already,” he says. “I swear, werewolves grow faster or something.”

Boyd cradles her sleeping twin sister to his chest. “Your mom said they’re growing just fine,” he says. “Maybe time just passes faster when you’re a parent.”

“It really does,” Scott says with a rueful grin as he follows Boyd into the nursery and lays the girls down in the crib. “Really teaches you how to savor every moment.” He looks up at Boyd. “You ever regret it?”

“Having kids?” Boyd asks. “Heck no.”

“No, not that,” Scott says. He taps the hand-carved mobile hanging above the crib. “I know you don’t regret that. No, I meant becoming a werewolf. It’s been one heck of a ride.”

Boyd thinks of all the near misses, all the times he’s nearly lost Cora, Erica, his own life. He shakes his head. “If I’d never become a werewolf, I never would have met the loves of my life.” He reaches down into the crib and runs a finger down his daughters’ cheeks. “Any of them. And I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Scott smiles. “Yeah, me neither.”

Boyd leads them out of the nursery, closing the door quietly behind them. “Remember what I told you when I first became a werewolf?”

Scott nods. “You said you wanted to be like me.”

“And I meant it,” Boyd says. “I still do. You know, I didn’t really know what an alpha was back then, but I always knew you’d be a good one. And I was right. I’m proud to be part of your pack, Scott.”

“I’m proud to be part of your family,” Scott says. His head turns towards the front door, and then Boyd hears Erica’s car turn onto their street. “And that’ll be them now.”

“Hey, Scott!” Erica says when Scott opens the front door, shifting her grocery bags to one hand to give him a hug. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Nah, I should get going,” Scott says. “Gotta get home to my own family.” He squeezes Cora’s shoulder. “The garden looks great, by the way. I’ll see you at Derek’s on Wednesday, right?”

“Of course,” Cora says. “We’re bringing dessert.”

“Ooh, Kira loves your apple pies!” Scott says, flashing Erica a grin. He waves over his shoulder as he heads down the driveway. “See you then!”

Boyd pulls them both in for a hug. “I’m glad you’re home.”

“We were only gone for a couple of hours,” Cora says, but hugs him and Erica anyway.

“I know,” he says. “But I’m really glad you’re both back.”

“We are, too,” Erica says, reaching around Boyd to hold Cora’s hand. “And we really need to get this ice cream inside before it melts.”

“Neapolitan?” Boyd asks hopefully.

Cora bumps him with her hip as she walks by with a bag of groceries. “Of course,” she says. “Can you get the last bag?”

“Of course,” Boyd says. He picks up the bag and follows his family back to their home.

**Author's Note:**

> Derek is the godfather of Scott’s daughter, who is a born werewolf. (It isn’t mentioned in the fic, but I’m headcanoning that she has a human older brother, whose godfather is Stiles. Their third child is a kitsune, and her godmother is Allison.)
> 
> Boyd is a smart cookie okay you cannot take this headcanon away from me. That’s why he and Lydia go to UC Berkeley for college. (Not mentioned, but most of the pack like Scott, Allison, Stiles, Kira, and of course Derek stay local to protect the town.)
> 
> I have nothing against Michael Buble, I swear.
> 
> Come say [hi](http://pocketlass.tumblr.com)!


End file.
